1970 McLaren Racing

This 1970 McLaren M8C was built by Trojan Ltd. in England and dispatched in February of 1971 to South America, where it is was initially campaigned by Ford Motor Argentina with a Ford engine and driven by Carlos Pairetti. After a number of podium finishes in Argentina, chassis 70-08 was raced in Brazil in 1972, including at Interlagos. Restorer Phil Reilly imported the car to the US in the 1980s and eventually sold it to the previous owner, a collector in California. Power is now provided by a dry-sump 350ci Chevrolet V8 that is equipped with four Weber carburetors and mated to a five-speed Hewland gearbox. The car was driven by the previous owner in the Monterey Historics, and it has been raced twice at Sonoma since being acquired by the seller three years ago. It also earned third in class and the People’s Choice Award at the 2018 Hillsborough Concours d’Elegance. This McLaren M8C is now offered on a bill of sale in San Francisco with a car cover, records, a verification statement from Trojan, and a CSRG logbook. McLaren commissioned Trojan to build their customer racing cars, including chassis 70-08. Kevlar-reinforced fiberglass bodywork is finished in orange and features white and blue vinyl stripes intended to pay tribute to the car’s 1972 livery. Photos in the gallery show the aluminum tub with the bodywork removed. Multi-piece, center-lock wheels are mounted with Avon slicks. Adjustable Koni coilovers are fitted at all four corners, and the brake fluid was changed in fall 2019. A spare set of wheels and tires is included in the sale, and a video tour of the car with its bodywork removed can be watched here. The open cockpit features a right-hand-drive seating position and a right-side sill shifter. Sport prototype rules required space for a passenger seat, though only the driver’s seat is equipped with padding and a Simpson racing harness. The polished roll bar extends over both seats. The three-spoke steering wheel is wrapped in black leather and features a McLaren “speedy kiwi” crest. A central 10k-rpm tachometer is flanked by Smiths oil pressure and temperature gauges. The black dash panel is equipped with an electrical shutoff switch, and a fire extinguisher is mounted to the passenger footwell. The seller estimates that the car has been driven about 75 miles since he purchased it three years ago. Originally fitted with a Ford engine, the car is currently powered by a Chevrolet 350ci V8 that was rebuilt by S&S Racing of San Leandro, California in 2016 with Carrillo connecting rods, roller rockers, and a new camshaft. The engine is equipped with four double-barrel downdraft Weber carburetors, a dry-sump oiling system, and stainless-steel exhaust headers. A start-up video can be viewed above. The Hewland LG 600 five-speed transaxle was fitted with a new, three-plate Tilton clutch approximately 75 miles ago, and the fluids were replaced in fall 2019. The McLaren data plate lists the model and chassis number, in addition to the contact information for Trojan’s racing car division in Croydon. A verification statement from Trojan Limited lists the build and dispatch dates, as well as the original specification. Note that under “Other Comments” this 1989 document states, “Returned from Argentina unraced (sic). both cars still in component form, as originally shipped.” Records show that chassis 70-08 was first raced on May 9, 1971 in the Campeonato Argentino Sport Prototipo class at Autódromo de Maggiolo, where Ford Motors Argentina driver Carlos Pairetti finished third. Other podium finishes that season included a second place at Sud-Am Córdoba and first place at Sud-Am Buenos Aires. According to Carlos Pairetti’s autobiography, El Trueno Naranja Ruge Nuevamente (The Orange Thunder Roars Again), Pairetti raises the possibly that some or all of the Argentinian races were performed in a clone of an M8C, and not in this car. Chassis 70-08 changed hands for the 1972 season, with Greek Ford Fabrini entering it in eight races, including the 500km of Interlagos. The previous owner raced the car at the Monterey Motorsports Reunion, and the seller drove it in two vintage events at the Sonoma Raceway. The video above shows the car in the paddock during the 2019 CSRG Charity Challenge.